Overview
- A jury convicted Capt. Gabriel Perez of attempted enticement and coercion of a minor and attempted transfer of obscene material following a five‑day trial.
- The conviction came July 17 after prosecutors said an undercover officer posing as a 14‑year‑old communicated with Perez in August 2024, he then sent an obscene photo and went to a planned meeting where he was arrested.
- Perez faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a possible life term for the enticement charge plus up to 10 years for the obscene‑material charge, and sentencing is set for Dec. 9, 2026.
- The case was investigated by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, and Eastampton police, and was prosecuted under the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Belgiovine and Richard Shephard.
- Project Safe Childhood centralizes federal, state, and local resources to target online child exploitation, and this prosecution highlights how coordinated undercover stings can lead to federal charges and possible military administrative action for service members.